Method and apparatus for treating hydrocarbon oils



R. E. BARRY March 27, 1934.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING HYDROCARBON OILS Filed April 5, 1928 xwwtmvtou kwww am no p s xoum 0M komwws zuufi 3 on. fig RRNSMEU towmufimm & W J. a 3 mwuum R n w a m. m

Zlvvmvntor Patented Mar. 27, 1934 1,952,527

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING HYDROGARBON OILS Robert E. Barry, Washington, D. 0., assignor of griehalf' to Ralph T. Bassett, Washington,

Application April 3, 1928, Serial No. 267,046

2 Claims. (Cl. 19696) This invention relates to improvements in so regulated that the catalytic agent is mainmethod and apparatus for treating hydrocarbon tained at a temperature which will prevent crackoils, and more particularly to a novel system for ing within the same, and at the same time preuse in cracking hydrocarbon oils and purifying vent any substantial condensation within the the vapors resulting from the cracking operation. agent.

It is well known that unsaturated constituents With the foregoing objects outlined, and with present after cracking treatment, are .in some other objects in view which will appear as the demeasure responsible for bad color and odor of scription proceeds, theinvention consists in the the resulting distillates. Prior to this invention, novel features hereinafter described in detail, il-

for the purpose of eliminating this objection, the lustrated in the accompanying drawing and more 65 vapors resulting from the cracking treatment particularly pointed out in the appended claims. have been passed through a suitable catalytic The drawing is a diagrammaticview of the apagent, such as fullers earth, bone black, charcoal, paratus which I have devised to carry out the bentonite or the like. It has been found advisimproved process.

able in such operation, to purify the oil in the In the drawing, 1 designates a pump which 70. vapor phase, and to this end, in one process, the draws the oil to be processed from any suitable catalytic agent has been maintained in heated source, and forces the same through a pipe line condition by means of steam.' 2, to any suitable heater 3 in which the oil is sub- The primary object of the present invention is jected to proper temperature and pressure to proto provide a system in which the use of steam duce cracking. The oil passes from the heater 76 or the like, for heating the catalytic agent, is into any suitable type of reaction chamber 4, and eliminated, and instead, the vapors from the the vapors and gases resulting from the cracking cracking operation are fed into the catalytic agent are preferably passed through pipes 5 and 6, into in the highly heated condition under which they a purifier 7 containing a mass 8 of any suitable 5 are discharged from the cracking unit. This heat catalytic agent, such as fullers earth, bentonite 80 is then utilized to preheat the oil fed to the crackor the like. In actual practice, the purifier ing unit, whereby heat is conserved. should be arranged sufficiently close to the re- It will thus be seen that contrary to the usual action chamber, so that the vapors entering the method of heating the catalytic agent by some purifier have dropped in temperature only slightly extraneous means, I utilize the heat of the below the temperature at which they leave the re- 86 cracked vapors to heat the agent and prevent action chamber, and in this way, the catalytic overheating by use of a cooling agent, which 0001- agent is heated. However, such temperature is ing agent is preferably the oil fed to the cracktoo high for efficient purification, so I dissipate a ing unit, and in this way, the oil is preheated proportion of the heat, so as to maintain the before reaching the cracking unit. catalytic agent at such a condition that cracking, 9 0

Another object of the invention is to furnish a as well as substantial condensation will be presystem in which the vapors may be fractionally vented during the purification step. The heat separated before a portion of the same is passed dissipated is utilized to preheat the cold oil fed into the catalytic agent, and in such system, I to the heater 3, and to this end, the purifier may 40 may utilize the heated condensate resulting from be provided with a cooling jacket 9, or the like, 96 the separation to heat the catalytic agent. At into which oil may be fed from a valved pipe 10. the same time, the cold oil going to the heating This pipe is preferably arranged at the lower end unit may be utilized to cool the catalytic agent, of the purifier, and the oil is discharged from as well as the upper portion of the separator, and the upper end of the jacket, into a conduit 11, 51 5 in this way, the cold oil aids in the maintenance through which it may be introduced into the 100 of a proper temperature in the purifier, and a feed pipe at the point 12. It will be obvious that proper reflux for the separator; and in addition, the temperature of the catalytic agent may be the feed stock is thus preheated before going to controlled by varying the amount of oil fed in the cracking unit. the pipe 10 at a given temperature.

50 Another object is to provide a flexible system The vapors are discharged from the purifier by in which the vapor may be fractionated before way of pipe 13, and are then condensed in the some of the same passes to the purifier, or in condenser 14.

which the vapors may be passed directly from Any slight condensation which may result from the cracking unit to the purifier. the purification treatment, may be discharged 5 5 In my process, the passage of the materials is from the purifier through a valved pipe 15, leading to an accumulator 16, from which it may be fed by way of a valved pipe 17, into the feed line 2. Such feed may take place while the pump is running, if an injector is used to lead the oil from pipe 17, into the pipe 2.

Instead of passing the vapors from the reaction chamber, directly to the purifier, they may first be led through any suitable stripping of rectifying tower 18, preferably of the bubble cap plate type. To permit this, a valve 19 in the pipe 5 is closed, and a valve 20 in a pipe 21, opened. The vapors remaining after the separation in the stripping tower are passed by way of valved pipe 22, into the pipe 6, and thence into the purifier where conditions are maintained to keep the material in vapor form without any cracking of the vapors. In this embodiment of the invention, the oil used in the cooling jacket of the purifier, may also be used to cool the top of the stripping tower, and for this purpose, a valve 23 in the line 11, can be closed, and then the oil will flow through the valved pipe 24, coil 25, and valved pipe 26, back into the line 11. In this way, the oil added to the feed pipe 2 will be additionally heated.

If the vapors are passed into the stripping tower, it will be obvious that the vapors passed through pipe 22 will be of considerably lower temperature than vapors passed through pipe 5, and consequently, it may be necessary to apply additional heat to the catalytic agent, and for this purpose, I may utilize the hot oil from the bottom of the stripping tower, such oil being circulated through valved pipes 27 and 28, and a coil or the like 29, arranged in the catalytic agent.

Hot oil from the tower can also be fed through a valved pipe 30 into an accumulator 31, and from the latter, be discharged through a valved pipe 32 into the feed line 2.

While I have disclosed a flexible system, permitting operation in a number of ways, in the preferred mode of procedure, the vapors are simply passed from the reaction chamber, through pipes 5 and 6, directly into the purifier, and then the cold oil passing around the latter will cooperate with the hot vapors to maintain such a condition within the catalytic material that there will be no cracking, and very little, if any condensation of the vapors, While they are passing through the purifier.

It is of course apparent that various changes may be made in the details disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An oil treating apparatus, including a cracking unit, a rectifying unit and a purifying unit, means for feeding vapors and gases from the cracking unit into the rectifying unit, means for feeding vapors and gases from the rectifying unit into the purifying unit, a mass of a catalytic adsorbent agent arranged in the purifying unit, means for discharging vapor from the purifying unit and for condensing said vapor, a cooling means for the purifying unit, a cooling means for the rectifying unit, means for feeding a cooling agent from one of said cooling means to the other cooling means, a heating coil in the purifying unit, and means for feeding heated liquid from the rectifying unit through said coil.

2. A method of treating hydrocarbon oils, consisting in subjecting the oil to sufficient heat and pressure to crack the same, passing some of the oil through a fractionating step and then while it is still in heated condition resulting from the cracking, passing it in indirect heat interchange through a mass of a catalytic adsorbent agent to heat the latter, and passing some of said oil after the cracking step while in vapor form, directly through said catalytic mass, and condensing the 

